One of the more stunning collapses in playoff history occurred on Saturday night in Jacksonville. After a collection of Trevor Lawrence interceptions and other various mishaps let the Los Angeles Chargers race out to a 27-0 first half lead over the Jaguars in their Wild Card matchup, Jacksonville roared back in the second half to pick up a thrilling, 31-30 win that featured the third-largest comeback in postseason history.
Lawrence threw four picks in the first half, but managed to salvage things a bit by throwing a touchdown pass to Evan Engram with 24 seconds left before the team entered the locker room. From there, everything went Jacksonville’s way. The Jags managed to get a pair of touchdowns in the third quarter, both thanks to the right arm of Lawrence. While the Chargers got a field goal in the period — their only points of the entire second half — Lawrence connected with both Marvin Jones Jr. and Zay Jones to get the team within 10.
Don’t count the @Jaguars out yet.
An 89-yard drive has Jacksonville within two scores.
: #LACvsJAX on NBC
: Stream on NFL+ https://t.co/LG9lf52l9m pic.twitter.com/4pv23Cb4pU— NFL (@NFL) January 15, 2023
LAWRENCE TO ZAY JONES. 39-YARD TD. #SuperWildCard
: #LACvsJAX on NBC
: Stream on NFL+ https://t.co/LG9lf52l9m pic.twitter.com/E7VZZpAExe— NFL (@NFL) January 15, 2023
The fourth was much of the same, with the Jaguars relentlessly turning the heat up on the Chargers and hoping they’d get their moment. That pressure was turned up considerably with 5:25 left in the game, as Lawrence found Christian Kirk for six one drive after L.A. missed a field goal that would have extended their lead to 13.
Lawrence to Kirk! Here come the Jags! #SuperWildCard
: #LACvsJAX on NBC
: Stream on NFL+ https://t.co/LG9lf52l9m pic.twitter.com/y81IVlwi6B— NFL (@NFL) January 15, 2023
Los Angeles end Joey Bosa thought there was a false start that went uncalled, and in the heat of the moment, he slammed his helmet against the turf. The unsportsmanlike conduct penalty that followed saw Jacksonville move the ball up a yard and go for two, where the ball was put in Lawrence hand and he literally just reached across the goal line.
AIR LAWRENCE. Two-point conversion is GOOD.#SuperWildCard @trevorlawrencee
: #LACvsJAX on NBC
: Stream on NFL+ https://t.co/LG9lf52l9m pic.twitter.com/Al7Jp7J5lb— NFL (@NFL) January 15, 2023
A three-and-out by the Chargers seemed to secure their fate. Jacksonville got the ball back with 3:09 left, went 61 yards in nine plays, and set up a 36-yard field goal for Riley Patterson. While it was a little close for comfort, he got it through the uprights to secure the win.
THE @JAGUARS WIN. SIMPLY UNBELIEVABLE.#SuperWildCard #LACvsJAX pic.twitter.com/OQGu34T6QI
— NFL (@NFL) January 15, 2023
Lawrence ended up with one of the stranger lines you’ll see for a quarterback, going 28-for-47 for 288 yards with four touchdowns and four interceptions.